Two men charged of murder stood before circuit court

Two men charged with murder in an Oct. 22 shooting in Pontiac stood mute during circuit court arraignment Friday.

Not guilty pleas were entered for Jonathan Dewight Hickerson, 17, of Pontiac and Donald Lee James II, 16, of Orion Township.

Both teens are charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion and three counts of possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.

The charges stem from the death of Adrian Contreras, who was shot to death inside his home on Inglewood Avenue in Pontiac.

Contreras was shot once in the head and twice in the chest, but his wife and 6-month-old child were able to escape to a neighbor's home, police said.

Hickerson, who was shot by Contreras' brother as he was attempting to escape, was wearing a walking boot and walked with a limp, authorities said.

Investigators have said Hickerson and James stole an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun from a home near Baldwin and Cornell avenues on the day before the shooting.

The guns were used to fire a total of 24 rounds at Contreras' house.

Howard Arnkoff, who represents Hickerson, told Oakland County Circuit Judge Rudy Nichols that his client has a "history of mental illness" and asked to have him psychologically evaluated to determine his competency and criminal responsibility.

Nichols, allowing time for the forensic evaluation, set Hickerson's next court date for March 29.

James -- who is being charged as an adult but is being held at Oakland County Children's Village, and therefore cannot be transported to court with adult inmates -- was arraigned separately shortly after Hickerson and a group of inmates left the courtroom.